Five years ago, I was a student burning midnight oil on a BeagleBone cape, guided by mentors Jason Kridner, Drew Fustini, Robert Nelson, and many others from the incredible BeagleBoard.org community. One of them patiently reviewed my first (terrible) pull request. Fast-forward to October 23–25, 2025: I’m holding the mic at the Google Summer of Code Mentor Summit in Munich, mentoring since 2022, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the same heroes who once debugged my code. This was my first passport stamp, my first pretzel, and my first time experiencing open source in full 3D surround sound.
Gratitude doesn’t begin to cover it.
To Google Summer of Code: thank you for building the ultimate sandbox where ideas scale from “what if” to “watch this.”
To BeagleBoard.org: for turning a former student into a torch-bearer (and trusting me with the good swag).
To every mentor who shared battle scars, whiteboard hacks, and 2 a.m. epiphanies over Augustiner, your insights cracked open a whole new atlas of possibility.
To our GSoC contributors, past and present: you are the pulse. Your questions keep us honest, your breakthroughs keep us awake.
The summit itself? Controlled chaos. Unconference boards filled faster than my jet-lagged brain could parse. We wrestled with inclusive onboarding, contributor retention, and the art of turning “it compiled” into “it ships.” Rooms with whiteboards! Zero slides! Peak open source!
A few Beagle puns, because I flew 7,000 km, I’m allowed:
- Crossed the pond on a bone-a-fide pilgrimage.
- Mentors weren’t just sharp, they were fetch-ing brilliant.
- Jet lag hit harder than a 1 kHz square wave.
- Came home with 47 new project ideas and exactly three new umbrellas (Munich weather inspired).
Munich Magic: Hardware Highlights and Lifelong Connections
The real magic happened in the hallways and sessions. That cool LED tag became the best souvenir ever. When I spotted it on Mario Behling’s badge, I instantly wanted one. Connecting with Hong Phuc Dang led me to an open-hardware session the next day, imagining an hour discussing open-source hardware with fantastic people worldwide. It was one of the summit’s best moments, and at the end, I scored the LED tag from the awesome FOSSASIA team. Thanks again!
I wasn’t expecting to meet someone from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), but I’m glad I ran into Sarrah Bastawala. The world is small. It all ties back to meeting Vedant Paranjape during my 2020 GSoC, sparking a strong connection with VJTI folks. I’m honored to have Mahesh Tupe from VJTI working full-time with me now.
I love making projects and visualizations, teaching myself programming via Daniel Shiffman’s Coding Train YouTube channel and his P5.js tutorials. Meeting Kit Kuksenok, PhD, the main brain behind my favorite P5.js project, was an amazing highlight.
One of the best parts of the GSoC Summit is meeting people who leave a lifelong impression. I’m back in India, but I’ve got friends to visit next time in Germany: Andreas Draeger & Amanjot Singh
I connected with so many talented individuals solving real-world problems with open-source technology. The summit inspired me to tackle more challenging tasks and release even more open-source solutions.
This entire journey was possible thanks to my mentor, Jason Kridner. He provided me with the opportunity and continuous generous support in everything I do.
Join the Adventure: GSoC 2026 with BeagleBoard.org
If you’re a student reading this: Your first “hello world” on real hardware is closer than you think. GSoC 2026 applications will drop soon. The BeagleBoard.org table just got a lot bigger, and we’re ready. Bring your curiosity, we’ll bring the capes.
Head over to BeagleBoard.org and get involved today. Whether you’re debugging your first pull request or dreaming up cape designs, our community is here to guide you from contributor to torch-bearer. Let’s build the future of open-source hardware together!